Every March 3rd, there is a big event at the United Nations headquarters in New York City to celebrate World Wildlife Day. But like many things in this pandemic world, that event will be virtual this year. These days, so many things are focused on what’s going on locally and it’s a good time to think about your local zoo or aquarium (i.e.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo) and the impact we have on the world’s wildlife.
Have you ever seen an elephant in the wild? Or a gorilla? Most people haven’t had this opportunity, but most people have a mental or spiritual connection to animals or the habitats they live in. That’s why accredited zoos and aquariums are important. They can’t replace that wild experience, but they can be a conduit for those millions of people who can’t travel the world to see wildlife. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people here in northeast Ohio will get the opportunity to see wildlife that they would never have seen otherwise, and many conservation professionals credit an early experience at a zoo as the starting point of their career path.
But even if you’re not going to be a conservation professional, making a connection with animals is important. Richard Louv, the author of the best-selling book “Last Child in the Woods” has been quoted as saying “We cannot protect something we do not love, we cannot love what we do not know, and we cannot know what we do not see. Or hear. Or sense.”
Wildlife species and wild places need to be protected now more than ever. We must protect ecosystems that support not only the wildlife inhabitants, but humans. Natural ecosystems control weather, stabilize soils, and provide food. We are not separate from these ecosystems, we are dependent upon them, even if we live thousands of miles away. And, that doesn’t even begin to touch upon the spiritual value and beauty of wildlife. What zoos and aquariums provide is a window into the majesty of these species that allows for a connection to be made. A connection that we hope evolves into a commitment to protect. Not everyone will become a conservationist but, without this exposure, as Richard Louv said, there is no opportunity to see and know and potentially protect.
But zoos are more than just that portal for an early connection. Accredited zoos and aquariums within the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) conduct conservation programs around the world to protect species, and they use the revenue from those visits that create the connection to help fund those projects. Here at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo we use portions of ticket and membership sales to support our global Future for Wildlife
conservation programs and we’ve been doing that work and supporting those that do that work for over two decades.
While many of our programs focus on individual species, some of our most creative programs protect many species. For years we have partnered with the Africa Wildlife Foundation and supported their Canine Detection Unit. This program trains and supplies customs officials with specially trained detection dogs that can detect wildlife products like ivory from elephants, rhino horn, live turtles or pangolin scales. These dogs are amazingly productive too. A single dog can search 300 passengers or 600 bags in 30 minutes. It would take one customs official a day and a half to do the same work and they’re incredibly productive. In 2016, detection dogs seized 3 tons of pangolin scales, or the equivalent of 7,500 animals. The increase in zoonotic diseases, including the current pandemic, is the result of a breakdown in natural ecosystems. It’s more important than ever for us to protect wildlife and their habitat.
So on March 3rd, when the United Nations hosts a virtual event to talk about World Wildlife Day, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and other accredited AZA zoos and aquariums will be celebrating the world’s wildlife as well. While the fate of species may not be the top of your mind every day, we are working hard every day to protect them because the fate of too many of those species is tied to our own fate. On this World Wildlife Day, consider what
you can do for wildlife or just consider coming to Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to make your own connection. You can see the world without worrying about travel restrictions!
~Dr. Chris Kuhar, Executive Director of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo